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Join Martha as she teaches the classic sauces everyone should know how to make: hollandaise, béchamel, beurre blanc and marinara. Each of these easy, adaptable recipes offers a culinary lesson in flavor-building techniques, so viewers can learn to create other sauces in the same family. Martha begins with two different methods for preparing hollandaise sauce, a delicious accompaniment to steamed asparagus and eggs Benedict. A creamy béchamel sauce becomes the basis for a grown-up take on macaroni and cheese. Martha serves the French sauce beurre blanc over steamed lobsters. Finally, she prepares a quick, fresh-tasting, better-than-anything-from-a-jar marinara sauce using only four ingredients.

Watch This Week’s Cooking Lesson

Martha Stewart discusses how to keep hollandaise sauce from separating.

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add pasta; salt generously and cook pasta to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well.

Melt butter in a 4-quart pot over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until bubbling but not browning, about 45 seconds. Add milk and whisk to combine. Bring to a simmer, stirring with a wooden spoon (scrape across the bottom and around edge of pot to prevent scorching), until thickened and smooth. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

Add fontina, Gruyere, Cheddar, and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses, stirring until completely melted and sauce is smooth. Season with salt and black pepper, add cayenne and nutmeg, and stir to combine.

Add pasta to sauce along with white pepper and salt; stir to thoroughly combine. Serve immediately.

Tips/Techniques

This macaroni and cheese recipe appears in the "Sauces" episode of "Martha Stewart's Cooking School." Visit the episode guide to watch a preview and get a cooking tip.

I was quite surprised when a friend suggested I watch the original episodes on YouTube. In the British version, they have these wonderful history bits about what the contestants are baking. Thoroughly enjoyable. Not sure why PBS omitted them.

i missed the first 15 minutes and the first bake because the show started a half hour earlier than ever before ... probably because it's pledge month. Now the network won't allow me to view it online because I watch it in Canada and there is some problem with 'rights'. Boo to you PBS. You'll take my money but what do I get now?

You could use whatever chocolate bar or chips you prefer. The darker the chocolate, the higher the percentage. I'd use semi-sweet or milk choc. Amazon sells 36% chocolate if you really want it. Looks like they're calling it milk chocolate.